Meal train setup

A meal train is a shared calendar where friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers can volunteer to bring you meals during those busy first weeks with a newborn. Each person picks a day and a meal, signs up, and shows up with food. No duplicates, no awkward coordination -- just warm meals arriving when you need them.

On Biraea, your meal train lives right on your site alongside everything else. Your helpers can browse a calendar, see what days still need coverage, and sign up in seconds.

Open your site from the dashboard and click Meal Train in the sidebar. Then click "Create Meal Train" to get started.

1. 1Give your meal train a title (for example, "Meals for the Johnsons").
2. 2Add an optional description with any helpful context for your helpers.
3. 3Pick a start date and end date for when you would like meals delivered.
4. 4Add any delivery notes -- your address, gate codes, best times to drop off, or anything else helpers should know.
5. 5Set the max slots per day (defaults to 2). This limits how many meals can be signed up for on any given day.
6. 6Click Create and your meal train is ready!

Every meal slot has a type so your helpers know what meal of the day they are covering. There are four types:

• Breakfast -- Shown with a yellow badge.
• Lunch -- Shown with a blue badge.
• Dinner -- Shown with a purple badge.
• Snack -- Shown with a green badge.

These color-coded badges make it easy to see at a glance what is covered and what still needs a volunteer.

Once your meal train exists, you need to add slots -- these are the individual meals that people can sign up for.

Adding slots one at a time: Click any day on the calendar to open it, then add a slot by choosing a date and meal type.

Generating slots in bulk: If you want to fill out your whole calendar quickly, use the bulk generate feature. Pick a date range and Biraea will create slots for every day in that range.

You can also:

• Unclaim a slot -- If someone needs to cancel, you can free up their slot so someone else can take it.
• Delete a slot -- Remove a slot entirely if you no longer need it.

When friends and family visit your site, they will see a beautiful calendar on the Meal Train page. Here is how it works for them:

1. 1They browse the calendar and click on a day that has open slots.
2. 2A popup shows all the available meals for that day with their type badges.
3. 3They pick a slot, enter their name and email, and can add a note about what they plan to bring.
4. 4They confirm, and the slot is claimed!

Days outside your meal train date range are dimmed so helpers know exactly when meals are needed. Only days with available slots are clickable.

A little planning goes a long way. Here are some things that help families get the most out of their meal train:

• Be specific in your delivery notes. Include your address, the best time to drop off, whether to ring the doorbell or leave it on the porch, and any gate or building codes.
• Mention dietary needs up front. If anyone in the household has allergies or dietary restrictions, put that in the description so helpers know before they cook.
• Do not overdo the slots. Two meals a day is usually plenty. You do not want your fridge overflowing while you are adjusting to a newborn!
• Share the link widely. Send your site link to friends, family, neighbors, coworkers -- anyone who has offered to help. People love having a concrete way to pitch in.
• Include a mix of meal types. Some helpers prefer breakfast or snack drops because they are simpler. Offering variety gives more people a chance to sign up.